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Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain for the first time has offered a detailed recollection of what led an employee of the National Restaurant Association to lodge a sexual harassment charge against him when he was CEO of the organization.

Cain spoke in response to detailed questioning from Fox News’ Greta van Susteren, who led Cain through the facts of the case in an extended interview. That interview was taped to be shown on Fox Monday night.

Cain told van Susteren that he remembered one woman who was a writer in the Association’s communications department. “I can’t even remember her name, but I do remember the formal allegation she made in terms of sexual harassment,” Cain said. “I turned it over to my general counsel and one of the ladies that worked for me, the woman in charge of human resources. They did investigate…and it was found to be baseless.”

Van Susteren asked Cain how often he saw the woman. “I might see her in the office because her office was on the same floor as my office,” Cain said. Van Susteren asked whether the woman traveled with Cain, who spent a lot of time on the road speaking to restaurant associations around the country. “No, never,” Cain said.

Cain said the woman was “younger than I was,” but he could not recall her age. Pressed, he said, “It would have had to have been late 30s, early 40s.”

Van Susteren asked what Cain did that led to the accusation. There were reportedly more than one accusations in the complaint, but Cain said he recalled just one incident. “She was in my office one day, and I made a gesture saying — and I was standing close to her — and I made a gesture saying you are the same height as my wife. And I brought my hand up to my chin saying, ‘My wife comes up to my chin.'” At that point, Cain gestured with his flattened palm near his chin. “And that was put in there [the complaint] as something that made her uncomfortable,” Cain said, “something that was in the sexual harassment charge.”

Van Susteren asked whether the woman complained at the time. “I can’t recall any comment that she made, positive or negative.”

Cain also offered new information about the settlement of the case. Politico, which broke the sexual harassment allegation story, said that the woman received a money settlement “in the five-figure range.” When van Susteren asked about that, Cain said, “My general counsel said this started out where she and her lawyer were demanding a huge financial settlement…I don’t remember a number…But then he said because there was no basis for this, we ended up settling for what would have been a termination settlement.” When van Susteren asked how much money was involved, Cain said. “Maybe three months’ salary. I don’t remember. It might have been two months. I do remember my general counsel saying we didn’t pay all of the money they demanded.”

As for reports that a second woman also complained about his behavior, Cain said, “I am totally unaware as to any formal charges coming from this other person.” Cain said he was told the woman’s name by reporters at Politico. “I have no knowledge that she made a formal complaint,” Cain said.

Cain told van Susteren that the woman worked in the Restaurant Association’s government affairs department, working with the group’s political action committee. He said he seldom saw her. As to the allegation that he might have made what Politico quoted as “an unwanted sexual advance” during a trip to Chicago, Cain said, “When we were at the restaurant show, I was constantly talking with different staff members about different issues. If I had a private conversation with her, I don’t recall it.”

The interview with Fox, scheduled to air on van Susteren’s program at 10 p.m. Eastern time, is part of a series of interviews Cain is making this week. (Note: I am a Fox News contributor.) The press offensive was originally planned to discuss Cain’s economic plans, but has turned into a series of questions about the sexual harassment allegations from the 1990s.

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Sheriff: Time For Citizens To Arm Themselves
Sheriff Chuck Wright Doesn’t Hold Back

POSTED: 12:31 pm EDT October 31, 2011

SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. — The Spartanburg County Sheriff is known for speaking his mind, and at a news conference on Monday, he didn’t hold back his anger and frustration after a woman was attacked in a park over the weekend.

Investigators said 46-year-old Walter Lance grabbed a woman who was walking her dog in Milliken Park on Sunday afternoon. They said Lance choked the woman, made her take off her clothing and tried to rape her. (Full Story)

Lance is in custody and was denied bond on Monday.

Sheriff Chuck Wright opened his news conference by saying, “Our form of justice is not making it,” and he said, “I’m really aggravated.”

He said, “Carry a concealed weapon. That’ll fix it.”

Wright said Lance had been charged numerous times with crimes again women, and other crimes such as resisting arrest and escape. Wright said Lance had been on probation for a federal gun charge.

He referred to Lance repeatedly as an “animal,” and expressed his disgust about Lance’s long record and the attack.

He said Lance “doesn’t fight police or men folk — he just goes after women.” He said Lance is not married because, “No woman can stay married to him because he beats them down too much.”

Wright said, “This is a horrific crime … her life was threatened so many times.”

Wright said he knows “liberals” don’t think you can just keep people in jail, but that Lance “should not have the right or opportunity to violate a good, upstanding woman.”

Wright said, “It’s too bad someone with a concealed weapons permit didn’t walk by. That would fix it.” He said people are tired of doing the right thing and criminals getting away with their actions.

He said several times, “I want you to get a concealed weapons permit.”

Wright said, “I’m tired of looking at victims saying, ‘There’s life after this’ … I’m tired of saying, ‘We’re sorry, we can’t keep them in jail.'”

Wright said in his view gun control is, “How fast can you can get the barrel of your gun back on the target?”

Wright said the attack is not the fault of Millken Park. He said, “It’s a nice place for families.”

He said officers patrol the area all the time and respond to various calls there. He said, “Don’t blame anyone for having an animal on their property … We can’t get it all.”

He encouraged women to walk in groups, and he ended by saying again, “I want you to get a concealed weapons permit. Don’t get Mace. Get a firearm.”

Herman Cainemphatically denied on Monday that he had ever sexually harassed anyone, calling allegations of harassment by two former employees “totally baseless and totally false.”

With the allegations threatening his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, Cain acknowledged the accusations in an interview with Fox News Channel but said that he had “never sexually harassed anyone.”

LIVE VIDEO: Herman Cain speaks at National Press Club after sexual harassment allegations surface“I was falsely accused while I was at the National Restaurant Association,” Cain said. He said that an investigation into the allegations found them to be “baseless.” He defended his integrity and suggested someone was putting a “cloud” over his campaign.“It is totally baseless and totally false,” Cain added. “Never have I committed any sort of sexual harassment.”Appearing that afternoon at the National Press Club, Cain strongly reiterated his stance that he had never sexually harassed anyone at the restaurant association or beforehand.“I would be delighted to clear the air,” he told the moderator in the question-and-answer session. “Number one, in all of my over 40 years of business experience, I have never sexually harassed anyone. Number two, while at the restaurant association, I was accused of sexual harassment, falsely accused I might add, and when the charges were brought, as the leader of the organization, I recused myself, and allowed my general counsel and human resources officer, to deal with the situation.————————————-

Now here are some excerpts on what he said previously…………………

Cain spokesman J.D. Gordon told POLITICO the candidate indicated to campaign officials that he was “vaguely familiar” with the charges and that the restaurant association’s general counsel had resolved the matter.
————————————————“He was vaguely familiar with it and wanted me to get with the [National Restaurant Association] lawyer who worked the case, Peter Kilgore. He said, ‘Just get with Peter Kilgore at the NRA.’ He remembered there was something vaguely, some allegation, but he wasn’t familiar with it.

————————————————So, he was only “vaguely familiar” 2 days ago but today he was well aware of it and “recused” himself.

“These are thin allegations, this is non-sourced, right now we’re trying to put this in perspective for you that this is not even an — sourced allegation,” Gordon told Geraldo. Geraldo of course was not satisfied with the answer and pressed him for a yes or no answer. Mr. Gordon would not give one.

Last night Gordon released a statement on behalf of the campaign:

Dredging up thinly sourced allegations stemming from Mr. Cain’s tenure as the Chief Executive Officer at the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, political trade press are now casting aspersions on his character and spreading rumors that never stood up to the facts,” Gordon said in the statement. “Since Washington establishment critics haven’t had much luck in attacking Mr. Cain’s ideas to fix a bad economy and create jobs, they are trying to attack him in any way they can.”

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I have never sexually harassed anyone. Yes, I have been falsely accused. My handlers took care of any settlement, I was never aware of it. This is in stark contrast to his refusal to answer the questions for several days until his handlers could weave up a story.

The only other allegations will be trumped up allegations. Does this mean the first two weren’t trumped up?

During Herman Cain’s tenure as the head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, at least two female employees complained to colleagues and senior association officials about inappropriate behavior by Cain, ultimately leaving their jobs at the trade group, multiple sources confirm to POLITICO.

The women complained of sexually suggestive behavior by Cain that made them angry and uncomfortable, the sources said, and they signed agreements with the restaurant group that gave them financial payouts to leave the association. The agreements also included language that bars the women from talking about their departures.

In a series of comments over the past 10 days, Cain and his campaign repeatedly declined to respond directly about whether he ever faced allegations of sexual harassment at the restaurant association. They have also declined to address questions about specific reporting confirming that there were financial settlements in two cases in which women leveled complaints.POLITICO has confirmed the identities of the two female restaurant association employees who complained about Cain but, for privacy concerns, is not publishing their names.

Cain spokesman J.D. Gordon told POLITICO the candidate indicated to campaign officials that he was “vaguely familiar” with the charges and that the restaurant association’s general counsel had resolved the matter.

Cain said he has “had thousands of people working for me” at different businesses over the years and could not comment “until I see some facts or some concrete evidence.” His campaign staff was given the name of one woman who complained last week, and it was repeated to Cain on Sunday. He responded, “I am not going to comment on that.”

He was then asked, “Have you ever been accused, sir, in your life of harassment by a woman?”

He breathed audibly, glared at the reporter and stayed silent for several seconds. After the question was repeated three times, he responded by asking the reporter, “Have you ever been accused of sexual harassment?”

Cain was president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association from late 1996 to mid-1999. POLITICO learned of the allegations against him, and over the course of several weeks, has put together accounts of what happened by talking to a lengthy roster of former board members, current and past staff and others familiar with the workings of the trade group at the time Cain was there.

In one case, POLITICO has seen documentation describing the allegations and showing that the restaurant association formally resolved the matter. Both women received separation packages that were in the five-figure range.

On the details of Cain’s allegedly inappropriate behavior with the two women, POLITICO has a half-dozen sources shedding light on different aspects of the complaints.

The sources — which include the recollections of close associates and other documentation — describe episodes that left the women upset and offended. These incidents include conversations allegedly filled with innuendo or personal questions of a sexually suggestive nature, taking place at hotels during conferences, at other officially sanctioned restaurant association events and at the association’s offices. There were also descriptions of physical gestures that were not overtly sexual but that made women who experienced or witnessed them uncomfortable and that they regarded as improper in a professional relationship.

Peter Kilgore, who was the association’s general counsel in the 1990s, and remains in that position today, has declined to comment to POLITICO on whether any settlements existed, saying he cannot discuss personnel matters.

But one source closely familiar with Cain’s tenure in Washington confirmed that the claims related to allegations of sexual harassment – behavior that disturbed members of the board who became aware of it, as well as the source, who otherwise liked Cain.

“I happen to know there were sealed settlements reached in the plural. I think that anybody who thinks this was a one-time, one-person transgression would be mistaken,” istaken,” this source said.

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Armed citizen militia group US Border Guard is making its presence felt at the Occupy Phoenix demonstration to protect free speech rights, arguing that the second amendment prevents the state from abusing the first amendment.

The group has been labeled “neo-nazis” by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which is usually a demonization tactic, but the individual shown in the clip, “JT Ready” has attended neo-nazi rallies and is closely affiliated with the fringe National Socialist Party.

The group has also operated as a “Minutemen on steroids” outfit, organizing armed patrols of the US border with Mexico.

Is this a means of infiltrating the ‘Occupy’ movement, a minority fringe extremist group trying to attach itself to the protesters, or merely concerned citizens expressing their right to bear arms peaceably?

Opinions will undoubtedly be split, but one certainty is the fact that the establishment media instantly seized upon groups like this attaching themselves to the Tea Party rallies as a smear tactic to claim the whole movement was racist and violent. However, in the case of ‘Occupy’, the mainstream networks have largely ignored making such connections.

October 30, 2011 7:59 PM

Demonstrators were left drenched with rain and then snow as the storm moved through the region. Central Park set a record for both the date and the month of October with 2.9 inches of snow.

Those camping out in the park have been stockpiling donated blankets, scarves, coats and have been trying to get more tents, cots and tarps.

According to an “urgent” alert on their website, OWS is looking for a number of other donations, including waterproof boots, gloves, hats, hand and foot warmers and disposable foot covers among other things. The site says the protesters “are in need of emergency supplies crucial for cold weather survival (and occupation).”

The site says they also need cots to get protesters off the ground, adding that they don’t have any and “could really use these.”

Reportedly, some have been even getting winter weather survival tips from the homeless.

They say they’re also looking for thermal heaters after fire officials removed six of the protesters’ gas-powered generators from Zuccotti Park on Friday, saying it was safety issue.

“The argument could be made they just wanted to get at our power source,” said demonstrator Brian Najdanik.

Without generators, protesters were left with just flashlights and lanterns. Lights, cooking equipment and the media center at Zuccotti Park were all turned off.

But the protesters are coming up with a new solution – a stationary bike and generator connected to a battery.

“We’ve got five bike-powered generator systems that are coming from Boston and we’ve got five more plus other ones that are going to supplement as well so we’re completely, completely off the grid,” said demonstrator Lauren Minis.

Insiders at Occupy Wall Street say they expect to have their media center and the food service area fully powered and illuminated by Monday.

The movement is also expected to reveal just how much money they have raised and spent in the first five weeks of the Occupy Wall Street campaign.

OWS has reportedly raised nearly $454,000 and has spent more than $50,000 so far for things like food, clothing, medical supplies, laundry, media and other expenses.

I see this as a win/win, he goes and we are finally on our own.

ABC News reported today that at a fundraising event in San Francisco, President Obama warned his supporters that if he loses his reelection bid next year that they had better get used to the end of government hand-outs.

“The one thing that we absolutely know for sure is that if we don’t work even harder than we did in 2008, then we’re going to have a government that tells the American people, ‘you are on your own,’” Obama told a crowd of 200 donors over lunch at the W Hotel.

“If you get sick, you’re on your own. If you can’t afford college, you’re on your own. If you don’t like that some corporation is polluting your air or the air that your child breathes, then you’re on your own,” he said. “That’s not the America I believe in. It’s not the America you believe in.”